Chessington, Zoo, Baby Elephant c.1965

Photo ref: C221148

I do not remember which year that I used to be a choir boy at St Mary about 1952-1956,there used to be myself buddy MacAlpin and michael MacAlpin and Colin Watson,both my parents are buried in the church yard along with my Grand mother .

The land opposite the shops in the picture was used by a visiting fair in the summer,because it was so boggy the used railway sleepers to put under their rides, in the winter the land used to flood and my brother and I used to punt the sleepers over the water,only about a foot at the deepest point, great fun.

This area played a large part in my early life in the late 40s - early 50s. I lived nearby till I was 10yrs old and then I still walked by to go to Moor Lane Junior mixed school and to Brownies on a Friday evening. We would meet Brown Owl from the station and walk passed these shops, then the open ground where there were lots of hawthorn bushes and a woodyard. Here Dad would buy timber and the rope and hooks for my ...see more

My dad's cousin had a butchers shop here which he ran with his wife and son - H.W. Chandler and Son